Excellent Choices

April 29, 1990

It would be reaching too far to try to find a single issue common to all seven of the localities in which this newspaper is endorsing candidates for city and town council elections.

In Newport News, the switch to non-partisan elections and dissatisfaction with the current city leadership have brought a flood of candidates to the race. Next door in Hampton, the incumbents face less of a threat despite continued grumbling about downtown revitalization.

Williamsburg remains a unique community, where perhaps the biggest challenge for candidates is explaining the city's budget surplus.

In the other communities - Windsor, Urbanna, Smithfield and Poquoson - growth, whether inside the municipal limits or in the surrounding area, is a big concern, one that is tied to the provision or maintenance of sewer lines.

But on Tuesday, when the residents of these seven localities go into the voting booth, they will have one thing in common: All of them will have excellent candidates to choose from. Whether they are returning incumbents with years of experience, or bringing in challengers with sound new thinking, the voters can call upon competent, creative people ready to serve their communities.

We have been particularly impressed by, and have endorsed, the following candidates.

* IN NEWPORT NEWS: Jessie Rattley and Margaret Keator are two incumbents who, despite some loud criticism, deserve to be returned to the council. Both deal in facts. Both recognize the complexity of government. Both stick to their commitments, and both will provide the kind of experience Newport News needs.

Two challengers, Jim West and Woodrow Holmes, also deserve support. As members of the School Board, these two men are no strangers to criticism and controversy. As board members, they did not lose sight of the city's needs. As council members, they can provide the leadership and sensitivity that will heal the divisiveness in Newport News and help the city fulfill its potential.

* IN HAMPTON: The challengers, with one exception, simply lack credibility. The incumbents, T. Melvin Butler, C. Edward Knight and Turner M. Spencer, are part of a team that has transformed downtown and brought important commercial and residential growth to the Northampton, Magruder and Mercury central areas. The challenges of the '90s will be different from those of the '80s, but Hampton residents should feel secure in having such experienced, capable incumbents ready to meet them.

* IN WILLIAMSBURG: In this city blessed with tourism-generated tax revenue, one challenger, Valerie Hardy, and an incumbent, Mary Lee Darling, offer the best choice for voters. Hardy will bring new ideas and energy that would benefit any governing body, and Darling will provide invaluable insights based on the experience she has gained during 12 years on the council.

* IN POQUOSON: Although W. Crosby Forrest III is not an incumbent, he will bring immense experience to the council in this city where education is a priority and low ground that doesn't perk is a problem. Forrest has served on the Wetlands Board and the Planning Commission, and deserves the Eastern Precinct seat on the council. In the Central Precinct, incumbent Gordon C. Helsel Jr. has served well for eight years and will continue to provide excellent constituent service and an independent vision of what's good for Poquoson. In the Western Precinct, Roger N. Messier has had experience on the School Board that will help the council as it works to preserve and build Poquoson's reputation for excellence in education.

* IN SMITHFIELD: Incumbents James Chapman, Florine Moore and Lawrence Pitt and challenger George Hines will help make the Town Council a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. They emphasize different areas, but show a firm understanding of all the problems facing Smithfield.

* IN WINDSOR: Vice Mayor Robert C. Claud Sr. deserves to be promoted to the job of mayor. Incumbents E. Mabry Scott and L. L. Spivey and former council member M. C. Neighbours will provide the kind of experience Windsor residents can trust as their small town confronts some potentially momentous changes.

* IN URBANNA: It is only a slight exaggeration to say there are almost as many candidates as residents in this small town with a giant reputation for its oyster festival. This indicates concern about the town's future. Culling through the group, voters will be best served by a mix of incumbents and challengers: Lewis Filling Jr., Phillip Friday, Joseph Green, Mary Kay Hight, Robert D. Mason Jr. and M. H. "Bud" Shelton.

All of these candidates are intelligent, dedicated people who will serve their communities well. In endorsing them, we have in some cases passed over other strong candidates.

For example, in Williamsburg, Patricia Ramsey has excellent credentials but has not lived in the community long enough to warrant endorsement. If she works hard and stays involved, she will make an extremely attractive candidate in the future. In Hampton, the same is true of Linda McNeeley, who has run an energetic, thoughtful campaign.

In all seven communities, voters can take pride in having so many qualified candidates willing to give their time and energy to public service.